Monday, October 19, 2009

This makes my bones stronger?

Things are different here. Language, smells, gestures, driving, and yes, even the milk is different. For starters, it tastes a little thin...and milk comes in a box. Yes, a box. What gets me is that it's not refrigerated until after it's opened. Mi familia buys about eight boxes of milk at a time, and when one runs out they just grab a new one from under the cupboard. And today was the first time I've ever noticed the expiration dates on the milk. Today is October 19, and the both chocolate and white milk expire in MARCH 2010. Wha!?! Ja, en serio. I don't think that's normal. I usually don't even drink milk, but mi padre noticed this and made me promise to drink a little milk every day so I don't have flacan (skinny) children. Humm. Let's just say that I'll be keeping it at a minimum.

Read it and weep. Chocolate milk: March 2, 2010. While milk: March 28, 2010. Oh my. I'm just not going to think about it too much...

3 comments:

They sold milk in little plastic bags in Bolivia. Think of it this way: it's not really fresh milk. It's just powdered milk that has been reconstituted. That's why it tastes thin. That's also why it has a longer shelf life. It doesn't tast great, but it's nice to be able to buy it in advance. And, also nice to be able to buy small quanities.

When I was in Chile back in the day, they actually bought their milk fresh every morning from a man that drove his cart up the street selling it. He poured it into their pan and they took it in the house to boil before serving. They served it piping hot with chocolate or wheat coffee.